One Step Closer

19-year-old Sheetal Bhalegaon is from Sangam Ner in the Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra. She comes from a family of six including her parents, elder sister, two younger siblings and herself. Her father works in a sugar factory and her mother is a home maker. Having successfully passed her standard twelve examinations from Mahatama Phule college she shifted her focus towards fulfilling a dream she had cherished for long – to become a nurse. However, she could not afford a professional course in nursing.

A wise man once said, “If a dream fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all try something.” This aptly applies to Sheetal who did not give up her desire to become a nurse.

She heard about Pratham from her cousin sister who had been a part of Pratham’s bed-side assistance program. “It was a chance for me to do something which will bring me closer to my dream.” She promptly moved to Nashik along with her elder sister to join Pratham’s bed side assistance program and started living with her aunt.

However this transition to a new city was not easy for her. Having never lived away from her parents, she initially battled homesickness and longed to go back home. Eventually she made friends at Pratham and soon she found herself at home in Nashik.

She has fond memories of her time spent at Pratham. “I especially liked the various activities we engaged in apart from the regular course. Self-help activities were fun. They helped me develop myself as a person. I was a very quiet and reserved person earlier but after the course I have become more confident and I have started interacting with more and more people”, she says.  Indeed her cheerful countenance and infectious smile are testimony to this change in her.

After completing her course she worked as a trainee at Nashik’s Sant Krupa Hospital and was retained by the hospital as a permanent staff three months ago. “I am now an earning member of my family,” she proudly declares. She earns around 3,000 rupees out of which she saves 1,000 rupees and gives the rest to her elder sister. She is now awaiting a hike in her salary to 6,000 rupees a month. “I will buy a pair of gold earrings for myself after the hike,” she says with excitement.

Content with her life, she is enjoying the work that she does and feels that Pratham’s course provided her with the right pedestal to move towards her dream of becoming a nurse.

Overcoming Hardship

Amrika was very young when she lost her mother. She craved love and companionship while growing up. Her father was an alcoholic and believed that sending Amrika to school was a waste of money; he did not believe in the education of girls. It wasn’t long before he abandoned her and left the house for good. Amrika moved to her maternal grandparents’ house at this point. She thought this was a positive change, but soon realized how wrong she was. Although she was allowed to go to school, she faced constant abuse from her uncle and aunt. To escape the abuse and earn her own living, she started working on a farm after school. She managed to complete her studies until the 10^th Standard despite her long hours at the farm. Life was hard, but she learned to be independent.

                      

Soon, she heard about the Hospitality Training Program at Pratham Institute. She discussed her apprehensions with the mobilizers and finally decided to enroll in the course. She saw this as an opportunity to permanently get away from the abuse and earn a stable income. She is currently enrolled in the housekeeping course.  

Conquering the Northeast World Skill Competition!

We are ecstatic to announce that two of our girls from the Pratham Dibrugarh Beauty Centre (Assam) have been selected for the National Round of the World Skill Competition!

Baishna Baruah and Kashmiri Dihingia both residents of Dibrugarh secured the silver and bronze medal respectively, at the regional level (Northeast). They will now undergo rigorous training in Mumbai for the National round in September. Post this, they may have the opportunity to compete internationally; in Brazil!!

Congratulations to both these extraordinary girls! Here's wishing them all the best for the upcoming rounds!

We hope to see them flying off to Brazil soon!!

Vijaya's New Chapter in Life

- Erin Kim

Vijaya is currently enrolled in the beauty course at the PSTC (Pratham Skills Training Center) in Varni, Telangana. She shyly shares that she is 40 years old and that she is too old for the course. She wishes that the Pratham center existed when she was younger. I tell her I respect her for her courage in taking up the challenge of starting something new at her point in life. A big smile spreads across her face and she replies, “Thank you.”

Like many other women in the room, she stopped her studies after completing 10^th grade, got married and became a housewife. She would have liked to study more and become a teacher. 15 years ago, she worked in the tailoring industry but had to stop due to health issues. With her daughter studying in Hyderabad and husband often away for work as a driver, she found herself becoming depressed with a lot of time alone and little to do.

That is why she signed up right away for the first batch of the beauty program when she heard that a Pratham center was opening in Varni. Unfortunately she had to join a later batch because she had to take care of her father who suddenly had had an accident. When she told her husband about the beauty course, he said, “Do what you want, but make sure you put what you learn into use.”

Vijaya’s favorite aspect of the course is that it is taught in a friendly, approachable manner. She appreciates the Pratham center because it gives the women in Varni livelihood and a chance to spend their time in a productive manner rather than sitting around and gossiping. Vijaya hopes to open her own business in beauty after the completion of her training.

My Children, My World

- Priyanka Venkatasubramanian

Surekha (second from the right) with her colleagues in Sant Krupa Hospital

Surekha Madhukar Paghare is a 28 year old widow from Manmand in Nasik. She joined the Bedside Assistance course in our Nashik Centre in December 2013 and is currently working as a trainee in Nashik’s Sant Krupa Hospital. She got married at the age of 15 when she had only finished her education up to the 9^th Std. Within 2 years of her marriage she gave birth to her first child, a daughter, who is now 12. She also has another daughter aged 10 and a son aged 10.

 

Her life plunged towards a downward spiral when her husband died six years ago. She has been living with her parents ever since. She moved out of her in-laws’ house for reasons so grave that she finds it imprudent to reveal them. No one from her husband’s family offered her any support except for her brother-in-law’s children. She explains her decision to refuse their help, “I thought back then that my nephews would one day have a family of their own with their own responsibilities so I should learn to be independent from the very start.” At this juncture one cannot help but be in awe of the maturity and integrity she displayed even as a twenty two year old.

She had before her the daunting task of raising her three children single- handedly. One can get a glimpse of her resilient attitude during this tough phase of her life when she says,“ I had to become my children’s mother and father. I had to prove myself even though I am not educated.”

In the past six years she has undertaken numerous jobs to make the two ends meet like working as a sales person; going from door to door selling cookers, stoves etc. and working as domestic help. Her mother too worked as domestic help and contributed to the family income while her father succumbed to alcoholism. In the year before joining the bedside assistance course she was working as a mavshee or aayah in Sai Seva Hospital.

It was there that she heard about the course from another aayah and was encouraged by a nurse to take up this course since she had seen Surekha show a good understanding of the intricacies of a nurse’s work. Even though working as an aayah helped her earn a decent salary it did not help her earn respect. Her children would feel hesitant to speak about their mother’s profession. Moreover she was overburdened with work and was constantly bogged down by threats of cuts in her salary. All this prompted her to leave her job and take up the course.